


Love, My Disease

by Pearl_Unplanned



Series: Cap_Ironman Bingo 2016 (1) [18]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe – No Powers, Cap_Ironman Bingo, Childhood Sweethearts, Good Dad Howard, Homophobic Language, Hurt Steve Rogers, Hurt Tony Stark, Insecure Tony Stark, M/M, Stony Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-27 03:04:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7600966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearl_Unplanned/pseuds/Pearl_Unplanned
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fifteen years after Steve’s family left, he returns to reunite with Tony. Tony’s just scared what his parents are going to think, seeing that he’s never actually told them, “Hey, I’m gay.”</p>
<p>Sequel to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/7397434">The Apple Tree</a> tl;dr inside</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love, My Disease

**Author's Note:**

> Haven't read [The Apple Tree](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7397434)?  
> Tl;dr: Tony grew up on an apple farm. As chidren, before Steve’s family moved away, the two boys got ‘married’ and planted an apple tree. It was adorable. Fifteen years later, Steve shows up again.  
> All caught up.  
> Also: This is the present. _This is the past._

 

            "Hello, stranger," Steve said, that goofy grin on his face making him look like a child.

            It had been _so long_ , and yet here Steve was, standing right in front of him as if nothing had ever happened in the first place. Tony wasn't sure what to do. His right hand balled up into a fist, and before he realized what he was doing, he punched Steve right across his perfect face. Thankfully he held back a lot, so it probably only stung a little.

            "Where have you been?" Tony shouted, feeling the tears well up in the corner of his eyes. His heart ached. "It's been _fifteen years_ , Steve! I've been waiting and waiting for you, and you haven't _been_ here. And then now, of all days, you show up without any warning?"

            The smile fell from Steve's face. "I thought... you'd be happy to see me."

            _"Quit that," the little brunet shouted. His tiny fist connected with the bully's face before anyone really had a chance to react. No one even knew where this kid had come from, he'd just seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, like he'd dropped down from the sky..._

_The bully, shocked and confused, turned and ran off, leaving only the feisty brunet standing there, smirking in victory._

_The blond, who was on the ground, pulled himself up and brushed some of the dust off of himself. "I had 'im on the ropes."_

_The brunet snorted. "Sure you did."_

            That broke something inside Tony, and he couldn't help it. He ran forward, wrapping his arms around the blond, crying against his shoulder.

            "I missed you so much," he cried, glad that Steve's large hands found his waist and held him up. "I've been waiting for you to come back, and I kept telling myself that I shouldn't because I thought you'd forgotten about me, and then you just show up out of the blue with no warning at all. Where have you been?"

            "I'm sorry," the blond murmured, rubbing his back. It felt so nice and realizing... "I'm sorry it took so long to come back... I didn't mean for it to take so long. You didn't have to wait for me, Tony. We were just kids, we didn't know what we were saying... you didn't have to wait."

            Tony wanted to be mad. He wanted to yell at Steve some more, to hit him and cry and—

            Steve tilted his head up, pressing his lips to Tony's, and the whole world melted away. In that moment, Tony forgot the past fifteen years and just lived in that moment. His anger disappeared, the pain disappeared, and that love he'd held in his heart since he was a child exploded, branching out to every piece of his soul.

            "I'm sorry," Steve repeated. "I tried telling my parents that I didn't want to leave, but as a child I couldn't really make that decision... That's why I'm back now. It's taken a long time, and I didn't mean for it to take so long... I would've been back sooner..."

            _"You're all dirty," the brunet said, pulling his blond friend to his feet. "My home's closer, so you're comin' with me."_

_That's when he noticed the blood that had started running down his friend's face. His lip was swollen and bloody, and his knees were all scraped up, too. There was a red mark on his face that no doubt would get darker real soon. Despite the pain that the boy was no doubt in, he still had a friendly smile and a look of adoration on his face. The brunet wasn't fooled, though. He could see the tears in his best friend's eyes._

_"It's okay, Steve, I won't let anyone else hurt you," the brunet murmured, wrapping his tiny arms around his friend. Steve hugged him tightly, like he was scared that he'd disappear._

_The blond always refused to cry, no matter how much pain he was in. "Thank you, Tony."_

            "Are your parents in town too? You should bring them by the house at dinnertime, we can have a reunion," Tony said, trying to pull Steve over in the direction of his house. They weren't that far away, it wouldn't take long. Maybe his parents might show up... They'd surely be happy to see their godchild! He watched the shadow that fell over Steve's face, the way his features darkened, and he knew that something was wrong. Something happened to his parents...

            "That, uh, won't be happening," Steve mumbled, and Tony quickly hugged the blond. Something was definitely wrong. "That's one of the reasons why it took so long to get back here... I've been on the road for about a year and a half now, but before that... Ma had been real sick for a while, and... I'd love to come over for dinner, if you wouldn't mind."

            "You should come over now. We've got a place to stay, if you need," Tony offered. He wanted to talk with Steve more. He didn't want the blond to disappear again. He didn't know much about him—he hadn't seen him in fifteen years—but he wanted to know more. He wanted Steve to be just the same as when they were kids. He hoped that the happy-go-lucky, playful, caring, kind-hearted boy still existed within this young man. He still didn't cry, just like when he was a kid.

            "I don't need to burden you. I've got money, I've spent most of my life working," Steve said quickly. "I can go stay in town—"

            "Nonsense," Tony said, dragging Steve towards the house. "Come on, come get some food. I'm taking a break anyway."

            Steve didn't argue as Tony led him back over to the house.

            _"I'm gonna see if you can stay the night," Tony said, making sure he kept holding Steve's hand. He knew that the other boy wouldn't get lost—they both knew their way around the apple orchards very well, and just because they were taking a shortcut didn't mean that he didn't know the way. He just really did like holding Steve's hand, and the blond liked holding his, too._

_"Maybe we could sleep in the tree fort again," Steve suggested. While he was a bit of a quiet child—very unlike Tony—he did manage to speak his mind around Tony. The other kids? Not so much. But the two friends never kept any secrets from one another, and they never ignored one another. That's why they were best friends._

_"Only if you don't fall again," Tony said, and his blond friend just rolled his eyes._

_That was when he was_ little _. He was five now! And anyway, it wasn't like Pa didn't catch him..._

_Upon seeing the big, beautiful farmhouse, the two boys started running. The large, whitewashed porch was decorated with plants and flowers, so many that almost no white shone through. The windows were almost always open, usually with apple pies cooling in the windows. They'd only ever taken one of them, but after the amount of trouble that they'd gotten in, they learned not to do it again. They_ were _for sale, after all._

_Tony grinned, throwing open the door. "Mom!"_

            "Tony, darling." Tony was a little surprised by the fact that his mother was actually still at the house. He knew that his father had gone to the market to sell the apples and other apple products. Apparently either she hadn't gone with him, or she'd already returned home. It _was_ starting to get later out, he wouldn't be surprised if she'd come home to start dinner. "Who's this?"

            "Mrs. Stark," Steve greeted respectfully. Tony watched the exact moment that his mother realized who it was that was standing in front of her. The look of shock on her face was as if she'd seen a ghost before she ran over and hugged the blond.

            "Steven! It's been so long since I've seen you," Tony's mother cried, hugging him tightly. "Look how much you've grown. I haven't seen you in... God, fifteen years by now. How are you, dear?"

            "I'm well," Steve said, smiling. Tony could tell that he was happy to see her—she had been Steve's unofficial second mother for the first several years of his life. "It's been far too long since I've been here. I hope you don't mind, Tony invited me over."

            "I'd be insulted if he didn't," Tony's mother said, dragging Steve into the house. Tony smiled, following after them.

            "You're just in time for dinner," Tony's mother continued. Seeing his mother and Steve chatting made Tony think back to when they were kids. It was like nothing had ever changed.

            _"Make sure to put your plates in the sink," Tony's mother said after the boys asked to be excused from the table. There was a little stool next to the counter so that they'd be able to reach the sink. Tony grabbed both plates, seeing that he was the taller of the two, and dropped them into the sink. Steve had already wandered off to Tony's room to go grab some pillows and blankets._

_Just when Tony was about to go running up the stairs to join Steve, he heard someone yelling outside. Curiosity overcame him as he snuck over closer to the partially-open door, trying to see what it was that was going on._

_"They're just little kids," Tony's father said. The child was shocked by the amount of anger and hatred in his father's voice. He'd never heard that before. His father was such a calm, smart, gentle man. This was pretty scary for the child._

_"Don't you see the way that they act?" It sounded a bit like... Uncle Obie? What was Uncle Obie talking about? "I don't want to see Anthony growing up to be a faggot, Howard. You need to keep those boys away from one another, make sure there's nothing going on."_

_"Don't you_ dare _talk about my son like that," Howard snapped, and Tony flinched away from the door._

_Uncle Obie was scaring him. "Those Rogers folks need to keep a better eye on their son before he taints Anthony with his fag disease—"_

_Tony ran off, up the stairs, before he could listen to any more. His blond friend found him hiding in the closet, tears staining his cheeks. Steve hugged him, promising that he'd keep him safe from Uncle Obie's hateful words, and that there was nothing wrong with them._

            "Steven?" Tony was a little surprised to hear his father's voice, and he turned around quickly. Steve had been helping him set the table, while his mother was bringing out the food.

            "Mr. Stark," Steve greeted, smiling at the man. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Sir."

            Tony's father still had that shocked look on his face, not moving an inch. He looked like he'd seen a ghost, like this wasn't real life right now. Slowly he started moving, walking over to the young man, who was looking a little concerned, like perhaps he should've asked Mr. Stark's permission before coming over. Tony was ready to protect Steve if need be—even though he was _far_ stronger than him now. And then...

            Tony's father embraced the young man tightly. "It's been so long since you've been here."

            "It has," Steve agreed, relaxing.

            Tony couldn't relax, though. He hadn't forgotten that conversation that Uncle Obadiah had with his father, all those years ago. He was worried about what his father might think, if he told him that he really cared about _Steve_. He'd never fall in love with a woman, he'd never marry some young lady and have kids. He was in love with Steve—it had to be love, it felt like love—and if he could ever officially marry him, he would.

            "There's so much to catch up on," Tony's father said, grabbing the last of the bowls before bringing it to the table. He had a wide smile on his face as the four took their seats.

            _"Why are you sad?" Steve asked. They should've gone to bed long ago, but the blond must've been able to sense just how stressed out he was at the moment._

_"Uncle Obie was sayin' mean things," Tony whispered. They both had brought sleeping bags and pillows up to the tree house. The window let in the light of the moon onto the two boys, giving them enough light to see. Red marks on his cheeks and the redness of his eyes were the only signs that Tony had been crying earlier. "I don't know why he doesn't like us. He said bad words, a-and he thinks we shouldn't be friends anymore."_

_"He doesn't like me because I like you?" Steve asked, piecing it together. "But... why?"_

_"He thought you have a disease," Tony whispered. "And that you're going to give it to me."_

_"He might be right," Steve pointed out sadly. "I get sick a lot. I might hurt you."_

_"I don't care about gettin' a cold," Tony sighed, scooting closer to his best friend. "It's a... a different disease. I've never heard Daddy say it before, but he did tell me it was a bad word when someone else said it. I can't repeat it..."_

_"Well, I wouldn't_ purposefully _get you sick," Steve decided, smiling at his friend. "No matter what Obie says. You're more fun to play with when you're not sick."_

_Tony laughed, though the worry stayed. Did Daddy think the same way as Uncle Obie? He hadn't told him that it was a bad word. He hadn't told Uncle Obie not to use that word. What if Daddy agreed with him? What if Daddy didn't want him to be around Steve anymore? It wasn't fair. They hadn't done nothing wrong, and he wasn't 'bout to just let Daddy take Steve away._

            "Well, I'm glad you stopped by here first," Tony's father said as they cleaned up the table after dinner. "I'd be very disappointed in you if you stopped at a hotel first. We've got a spare room that you can have."

            "Thank you," Steve said, nodding respectfully. "I've got some rent money—"

            "Nope, I refuse," Tony's father said. "You're staying here, rent free. If you want to help out, you can. I'm sure Tony would appreciate it, as long as you don't mind spending hours with him daily."

            Tony winked at Steve, who blushed a little as he replied, "I can do that."

            "So," Tony's father said, leaning against the doorframe. The look on his face told Tony that he was ready to interrogate Steve. He'd already talked about what had happened with his family, so they'd tried to keep off the topic of the past. "You've been on the road for a while. Does that mean there's no young lady with you?"

            "No Sir," Steve said, glancing over at Tony again. The brunet wasn't sure what to do. Should they tell his parents? Should they not? "I, uh, I'm not looking for a dame, Sir."

            Tony's father hadn't gotten Steve to call him Howard yet. He'd been trying to get rid of the 'Sir' thing the whole evening. "That's quite all right. Then is there any special fella?"

            "Howard," Tony's mother snapped, glaring at her husband.

            Steve's face went red, and he looked at Tony for help. Tony bit his lip and stepped in front of Steve like he'd be able to protect him from words just by the way he was standing.

            "Steve and I are in love," Tony said, taking a deep breath as he reached back to hold Steve's hand. Steve gave it a gentle squeeze before he added, "I'd be honored, Sir, if you'd allow me to court your son."

            _"They're going to take you away, because I say I love you," Tony said sadly, looking up into the sky. Clouds blew by slowly._

_"They can't do that," Steve decided, crossing his arms. "They can't take us away if we're... married, right?"_

_"That's for adults," Tony laughed, until he noticed the serious look on Steve's young face. He smiled at his friend. "That might work."_

            Tony felt all of his stress, all of his nerves build up in that moment as he turned to face his father, defiance shining in his eyes. He wasn't about to give in, not after Uncle Obadiah had made him feel so bad about himself for years. He'd never told his father about what his Uncle said to him when he was growing up. He'd never told him about the way that his Uncle made him feel like he was wrong in the head just for the innocent love that he'd had as a boy for his friend.

            "I don't care what you think," Tony said before his father had a chance to react. "I don't care if you think it's wrong for me to like Steve because we're both men. I don't care if you hate me, or if you're disgusted, or if you kick us out. I don't even care what you call us, because that won't ever change how I feel about Steve. And Mom? I'm sorry, I really don't want to date any of those women that you try to set me up with. I'm not interested in them."

            "Wait," Tony's father said, pinching the bridge of his nose. The normally calm man had that look of anger on his face again, the look that Tony never wanted to see. It took him straight back to when he was a kid, when Daddy and Obie were yelling outside and it was too much— _just stop yelling_ —Steve gripped his hand, anchoring him, grounding him and letting him think again.

            _"They're taking me away," Steve cried, and the two boys held one another tightly. "Soon, Tony, soon."_

_"Don't you go forgettin' 'bout me, Rogers," Tony mumbled, and Steve shook his head._

_"Never."_

            "Where did you _ever_ get the idea that I had _anything_ against you? Where did you get the idea that I thought two men together was wrong?" Tony's father snapped, taking a couple deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. "Tony, I'm the one who told you that 'faggot' was a bad word! I was the one who tried to teach you that it was okay to be different. Why would you think that I'd be mad?" He looked more hurt than angry. "Where'd you get that idea, Tony?"

            "You were talking with Uncle—with Obadiah," Tony said, slowly and quietly. "You guys were yelling, and he was saying that Steve and I... He said that Steve was going to give me his _disease_ ," Tony spat the word angrily. "You didn't tell him those words were wrong, Dad."

            It had been years since he'd actually called his father 'Dad.'

            "Oh Tony," Howard whispered, shaking his head. "I was kicking him out of the house for what he was saying about you two. I've known since you were kids that you two have had crushes on one another... I'd thought that in the past several years those would've disappeared, but... I never knew you heard us. I kicked him out for what he said about Steve and his family. That's why he never said those words in this household again."

            Tony's father must've caught the look on his face as he asked, "He didn't, did he? Tony, did he say something to you, when you were young? What did he say?"

            Tony bit his lip, leaning against Steve when the blond wrapped an arm around his waist.

            The man walked up to his son, embracing him tightly. "I'm sorry, Tony, I never knew... I should've known. There's nothing wrong with you—either of you."

            "Thanks Dad," Tony mumbled, feeling lighter now that he could let go of all that fear and stress that he'd built up over the years when it came to telling his father he was in love with Steve.

            "You'll always be our little boy, no matter what," Tony's mother said, kissing his forehead. "And you, Steve. You're here to stay, as long as you want."

            "Thank you," Steve said, and he sounded like he was near tears.

            _"Why did he have to leave?" Tony asked, several days after he'd last seen Steve._

_"I don't know, Tony... I don't know."_

            "Thank you," Tony repeated, finally feeling like he was allowed to be himself. No more dates with unknown girls, no more worrying about his father's reaction, and no more missing Steve. He leaned backward against Steve's chest. Yep, no more missing Steve. He felt like a kid again, like he was able to just run through the meadows without a care in the world.

            "I love you," Steve whispered.

            _Tony took the flower that Steve had offered to him. He grinned at the other boy. "I love you too."_


End file.
